I’m so confused and stressed about applying to college! I don’t understand when recommendation, act scores, and transcripts should be sent in. Should I send them in after submitting my application? Or send it all in at once? Doesn’t the act company send them in electronically? Please someone explain this process on when to send these things in! Thank you!
Each college you apply to has a schedule on its web site that tells you when they need everything. The app deadline is for your application. Ideally the recs, transcripts and scores are there by then too but there is a little latitude in many cases for those.
ACT is sent directly from the ACT but you have to ask for (and pay for) the reports to be sent to your colleges.
Transcripts go to colleges directly from your school and there is some process that your school has for requesting them. Ask your guidance office what that process is.
You ask your teachers for their recommendations directly and usually they also send them to colleges directly, or sometimes through the guidance office.
The colleges you apply to create a file for you when the first item comes in, and they add each thing to that file as it arrives. So all at once is not necessary. Once you apply they generally give you a link on their web site that you can check to make sure everything has been turned in.
Thank you so much! Also my counselor has granted me five fee waiver forms. When do we send the fee waivers? After we fill out the application or before?
Are the fee waivers for applications? If you are using the common app your GC only has to fill that out once and you can use them for unlimited common app schools.
If this is for schools not on the common app, there will be instructions with the app about where/when to send them.
If these are fee waivers for test scores, you can only use them for the test itself, not to send the scores (except for the 4 free score reports included with each test that you have to name before you test) 
Yes the fee waivers are for applications. My colleges aren’t through common app she said she will fax it to them once I know which colleges I’ll apply to. I’m just confused on if I should let her fax it before I submit my college applications or after.
I don’t think it matters - I think the school will start a file for you with the first piece of paper that arrives. Ideally you apply first but often guidance counselors need lots of notice to get theirs out (my daughter’s school wanted 3 weeks), so if you’re tight for time, ask her to send then get your app together.
Are your deadlines soon or in January or…?